Unknown Fighters Abound!

If you read the fight card aloud before the game (if there ever were such a service at a hockey game) and saw that the Swinging Swede, Jonas Ahnelov, the Harvard Horror, Dylan Reese, and the Wooooooool-verine (as PA announcer Roland Ruiz would say) Chad Kolarik, were down as the pugilists, chances are there would be a hint of disappointment in your mind’s eye.

However, the trio showed some fists of fury Saturday night at the AT&T Center, sticking up for teammates and not backing down to the fearsome Flames from Quad City.

Ahnelov tested my theory that, outside of Peter Forsberg, the Swedes are the nicest, “smiling-est,” truly giddy-with-glee people on the planet by taking on Peter Vandermeer, the former Rampage ruffian. Ahnelov, who has to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, putting a stamp of authenticity on my Swedish Theory, had a bag of badgers in his hands with Vandermeer and did a great job, landing a few, blocking a few and holding off the madman until the suits arrived.

It was Ahnelov’s first fight. Ever. Not even with a wayward brother or slap happy sister.

First fight.

“I had no idea (who he was). I just hit him. I knew that he played here last year and that he’s a tough guy,” Ahnelov the Anihilator said sheepishly after the game. “It’s good for the team to do it. It’s cool. The team likes it.”

I asked him if Pete said anything to him after the fracas and Jonas said, “He don’t want to do that.”

So I shot back, “Because you scared him off?”

“I hope so,” Jonas said with a big grin.

Reese has had three fights in the AHL, all against the Flames. His dance partner Saturday was Kris Chucko. Reese said Chucko gave Rampage goaltender Josh Tordjman too much stick work and the brouhaha was on.

“He asked me if I wanted to go, so we dropped them,” said the Crimson Crusader. And he did a great job once they started actually tossing.

I asked him if he was tired after the fight and he said, “I came into the room and saw Keefer (Adam Keefe) and Franky (Lessard, who fight for a living) and said, ‘How do you do this all the time?’ I couldn’t even lift my right arm!”

Kolarik couldn’t lift his left arm after his abbreviated scuffle with Cam Cunning. Cunning rocked Rampage defenseman Ryan Lannon at the QC blueline, so Kolarik stood up for his teammate, a lofty enterprise, but ended up with a limp limb. No word on the extent of the injury, but hopefully Chad doesn’t suffer the same fate as Nathan Horton, who threw out his shoulder while throwing down punches in a fight when the Panthers were the major league team. Horton, now a high flight NHL scorer, nearly saw his career go down in flames. Memo to Kolarik, who held his own in the jam session, you have 18 points — 17 PIMS — better to keep the points ahead of the PIMS in your case.

Alex Bourret also was called upon, but for different reasons — he was really throwing his 200-pound frame around in the first and second periods. The Drummondville, Quebec skater was a real burr in the Flames’ collective jock, and finally David Van der Gulik had enough of it. Not much of a bout, with both fighters going down in a heap shortly after it started. But again, four fights from non-traditional trespassers. Fun times

RANDOM NOTES

Joakim — it was nice to meet you. Have a nice career in the NHL. Scored his second goal in as many games for the Coyotes, this time against Chris Osgood and the Detroit Red Wings in Phoenix’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Wings. Only negative was Lindstrom missed on his shootout attempt. Ironically, the shootout winner was scored by former Rampage nemesis, Juri Hudler.

Fun game — Flames tried to steal a goal… all raised their sticks after a shot just four minutes in. Josh Tordjman had the puck in the crease. The goal judge and both referees didn’t buy the ruse. Rampage win in OT, great game winner by Joel Perrault after a super rush and pass out from behind the net by Sean Sullivan and four roustabouts. Good hitting throughout. Teddy bear toss in the first period after Brett MacLean’s goal. Excellent night all around for the 5,937 gathered for kids night.

Gotta give props to Carson Germyn, the one of the Flames step-up guys. Germyn was backpeddling with less than 15 seconds left and the Rampage breaking out of their zone with an empty net down the ice. Jeff Hoggan tried to flip the puck into the Flames zone, maybe into the net, but Germyn used every inch of his 5-10 frame to jump and knock the puck down, and immediately send the disc up the left wing for Chucko, who centered and allowed Greentree to tie the game with eight seconds left in regulation.

Kudos to Sean Sullivan for dumping the puck into the Flames zone, following the puck deep into the zone and finding Perrault at the side of the goal for the game winner. Sully has been steadily improving since his stint in the doghouse kept him in the stands for a couple of games during The Streak. Now, his clutch play has him one of the stars of The Streak the Rampage are proud to own — the longest win streak in franchise history.

“Four on four we think we have the advantage, our speed, our goal scorers, things start to click now. They score a goal, so what, we can come back and get one in overtime,” said Sullivan. “It’s huge, especially against them, a team that scored five goals against us in the first period last time we played them. To get a win against them, continue our streak, making that run continue going into Chicago tomorrow.”

It’s been a weird series with the Flames over the past two years. This was only the second win against QC at the AT&T Center for the Rampage (2-5-0-0), while San Antonio has a 3-1-0-1 mark in Quad City.

Nice to see the Rampage get a trickler by an opposing goalie. First Rampage goal by MacLean, his 10th of the year, was stopped by Leland Irving, but the shot’s momentum carried it through Irving’s pads and barely over the goal line. Ten days ago, that shot was A) smothered by the goaltender, B) swept away by the defense or C) hit the post or go just past it.

Six-game win streak after a 17-game winless streak, both franchise records. The Rampage will try and avoid adding to a current streak that hasn’t reached “franchise high” status yet, road losses. The Herd is winless in 10 straight to start this season, which has tied the team record. A win Sunday against Chicago would keep the team from setting its third “Streak” record just 29 games into the season. The Rampage are the only AHL team without a road win this season.

SIMEON VARMALOV

In Montreal Saturday night, Varmalov got the start for the Washington Capitals. So what’s the big deal, Uminski? He’s was the losing goaltender Thursday night against the Rampage for the Hershey Bears. Can’t say it enough…one night in SA, the next time out in the NHL. Not only did Varmalov start against Les Habitants, he beat em, 2-1! Hmmm, lose to the Rampage…beat the Habs in Montreal. Says something about your hockey team, San Antonio.